First Fretless

[topper]

Hi all,

I'm getting geared up to make my first neck and for a variety of reasons am considering making it fretless. Some of my reasons are that I don't currently own a fretless and honestly, the task of fretting the neck is a little daunting. Also, I don't have the tools and that would be a sizable investment.

I've read a lot on neck construction, but I'm wondering if there is anything special I need to keep in mind with fretless construction. For example will the nut slots need to be deeper than on a fretted?

Thanks!

[wilser]

yes, there are a couple of things that you will have to consider. The fingerboard must be dressed properly or there will be unwanted (and ugly) buzzing in some areas. Take special care on this.

The nutslots need to bee deeper than on a fretted, they should be as close to the fingerboard as possible without actually touching it. I've found that a piece of bond 20 paper's thickness is good enough.

Plan for wear. if you're not gonna use a stabilized or epoxied fretboard or an ultra dense and hard wood you should make the fingerboard a hair thicker than you would on a fretted because it will eventually need to be re-dressed.

Those are just a few things that come to mind. I'm sure others will chip in.

Good luck!

[Rodent]

* be sure to use as large a radiused sanding block as you can afford ... preferable 8" or longer

* make your sadning strokes parallel to the neck centerline - not the edge of the neck

* l-o-n-g even strokes along the entire fingerboard are better than short strokes

* if you don't have a means to support the neck contour, rough shape your fingerboard prior to carving the rear contour to avoid a bow in the middle


I know there's more, but these are what come to mind at the moment ...

all the best,

R